JILLIAN MICHAELS:
Jillian Michaels continues to find the weirdest places ever to talk about being bisexual. I guess her latest cover story in Womens Health is about like eating healthy, working out, greek yogurt, spandex, The Biggest Loser, defining goals, etc., but really the good stuff is at the very very very end, underneath a probs very inspiring column sidebar entitled “Seven Steps of Life Success.” The basic truth is that we will never emulate Jillian Michaels’ admirable workout and diet, because we love cookies, soft-glides on the elliptical trainer and ourselves just the way we are. But we can do a little Michaels-esque muff-diving!
Though she’s still tight-lipped about her alleged relationship with Heidi “Mouse” Rhoades, Michaels’ latest cover story in Women’s Health once again answers the (bi)sexuality question:
When she has a rare spare moment, Jillian rides her horse, Buzz, or whizzes along speed tracks on one of her motorcycles. And though this self-proclaimed “anti-Hollywood girl” would rather watch Lost or hang with best pal actress Vanessa Marcil than go to parties, she does squeeze in time for dates — with men or women. “I’ve been in love with both,” she says candidly.
She also hopes to have kids someday, saying, “I’m going to adopt.”
Then, in one of those iffy statements that kinda borders on insulting; “One of the reasons: Jillian admits to having an aversion to pregnancy, the result of being an overweight kid. ‘I can’t handle doing that to my body,’ she explains.”
We’ve got scans from Jillian Michaels’ story right here for ya:
Jillian Michaels initially revealed her bisexuality in Ladies’ Home Journal, which we noted was probs the first time anyone has ever come out in Ladies Home Journal. Don’t get us wrong –– Women’s Health is actually honestly one of the best women’s magazines in print these days. Seriously. You should probs go buy it.
MUFFIA:
Um, is this a thing? The NY Press has written an article about the hottest gay girls on the NYC lesbian nightlife scene – which, I mean, great – and then gone ahead and named them “The Muffia.” Like, you know, muff. And Mafia. Together. Thoughts? They do talk to Holly Miranda! Always a good idea! (@nypress)
THEATER:
The only thing gay people love more than theater is theater about gay people, amirite? Disappointingly I don’t think this one has any lesbians in it but it is billed as “a little slice of gay teen life” and it sounds like the creators are doing their best to make that true, capturing the discomfort and false starts and awkwardness and earnestness of those years. “Les Waters, who is directing the musical about two high school boys’ fledgling relationship, wants to make sure that “Girlfriend” doesn’t feel overly polished, “That it doesn’t look too thoroughly worked-out,” he says. That uncertainty, he says, is essential in capturing “the sheer humiliation of talking about anything when you’re a teenager.” Catch it at the Berkeley Repertory Theater!(@latimesblogs)
BOLLYWOOD:
Bollywood’s not known for its sensitive portrayals of GLBT people – Deepa Mehta’s non-mainstream film about lesbians, Fire, was very controversial, and the more recent Dostana portrays gay male relationships as basically comedic. But Celina Jaitly, a Punjabi Bollywood actress known for her vociferous support of gay rights, says she’s interested in playing a lesbian in the future! Let’s cross our fingers, because, um, this is Celina Jaitly:
SUPERHEROES:
More evidence that the X-Men are totally gay: gay dudes are now wearing spandex superhero outfits to this one awesome-sounding gay bar! “This is Skin Tight U.S.A., the occasional costume-fetish party held at the Stonewall Inn in the West Village, which draws a regular group of men (and their admirers) who enjoy a special kind of dress-up. Some wear heroic outfits; some, wrestling gear. The crowd can range from 25 people on an average night to 250 on a spectacular one. The common thread is that the muscle-cuddling garb often leaves little to the imagination.” This is actually a super interesting article – come for the fascinating idea of fetishizing superheros, and stay for the in-depth discussion of the history of gay visibility in comic books! Also the slideshow! (@nytimes)
GAGA:
She’ll perform on American Idol on May 5th! Adam Lambert was just on there, clearly American Idol is courting the Autostraddle demographic. (@gagadaily)
Also, in news that directly affects me, Rachel, personally, there is a lesbian couple that is petitioning to have Gaga marry them at her show in Boston. Which I will be at. Since they might actually be the two cutest human beings on the face of the earth, you may want to think about helping them out. I think they want you to become a fan of their facebook page? How hard can that be? LOOK HOW CUTE
EMMA THOMPSON:
She says some awesome stuff in an interview with the Daily Mail, first about motherhood and then about how individuals can go about trying to change our outrageously fatphobic culture: “‘Put on weight and say F*** off,’ she retorts. ‘Demand bigger sizes. Go into places where you can’t get a 38D bra and say, “I want a 38D bra and give me one. If you can’t, I am never coming here again.” (@dailymail)
BOOKS:
The American Library Association has released its list of Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009 – the first prize winner was ttyl, a trilogy of books written entirely in IM-speak that are apparently “sexually explicit and unsuitable for the intended age group.” Um, duh, that’s like what the internet is for. Unsurprisingly, the list is pretty gay, with other challenged books including gay penguin book And Tango Makes Three. It’s an interesting read, and if you needed any more proof that trying to get books taken out of libraries is bullshit, apparently The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the book that changed all of our lives forever when we were fifteen and made us who we are today, is on the list for the second year running.
ANYONE BUT ME:
Hey remember when Rachel Hip-Flores won a Streamy Award and we were super duper proud and excited because we love them and we love Anyone But Me? Here’s a cute video of her with Susan Miller on the red carpet, being cute! Get pumped for the surprise pop-up Nicole Pacent appearance around 2:20.
Ha, Bollywood doesn’t even do *kisses*; I doubt you’ll actually see any overt alternative sexualities in there. And not out of homophobia (I wonder if there’s been a film about hijras?) but more out of “hey that’s private! get a room!”.
That said, I remember watching a relatively older (70s? 80s?) Bollywood film one time and was quite surprised at how erotic it was. It was still “family friendly” to some degree, at least compared to most Hollywood movies, but there were so many allusions to sex and so much erotic sexual tension (including wet white saris in waterfalls!!) that it made current movies look prudish!
I have a lot of feelings re: Bollywood. I agree that while I would love to see lesbians done well in Bollywood it’s probably a long way off, but at the same time the industry can be surprising sometimes? Like you say, there’s a lot of pretty erotic stuff in them even if overt on-screen interactions between characters is censored. And while I kind of ragged on Dostana, it’s overall a not entirely awful portrayal of gay men – have you seen it? Also, I Am Omar is apparently supposed to feature a gay sex scene, and even if Bollywood’s not actually doing lesbian, audiences are certainly thinking about it. Apparently no one will shut up about whether the female roommates in Apartment are lesbians or not.
Also I think Celina Jaitly sounds great, even if I’ve never seen her movies.
I’m not terribly fond of Bollywood films so I haven’t seen Dostana, but I’m sure someone in my family tree has!
In response to films about hijras… actually saw a play about hijras in the UK a few years ago/random
So I just needed to say, as a comment to the “fatphobic” choice of word in the Emma Thompson section, because it’s a trend I’ve been noticing and it really does tick me off:
Being fat is not healthy. That’s pretty much all there is to it. You can’t defend otherwise. Now, being too thin isn’t healthy either! I’m not arguing that point. Neither am I saying that there isn’t some kind of “intolerance” towards those who are overweight, which is uncalled for.
People do come in all colours and sizes, and that’s pretty awesome. But I think our society is trivialising something (our tendency to overeat[or to not eat enough]) that is actually a problem. Not only is it unhealthy for the individual, but it’s extremely expensive, for the rest of us – the prime example being health costs.
I do know that in some cases, there is a hormonal imbalance, an endocrine problem. But that’s the minority. The vast majority of overweight people just eat too much and don’t exercise.
Again, I am NOT (I repeat this but I can feel the heat coming anyway) promoting sizes 00. I’m promoting healthy living – and that implies healthy eating habits and occasional stretching of limbs, and whatnot.
Okay, rant over. *gets ready for lynching*
I have a few thoughts on this.
1. I’m curious about where you’re getting the idea that fatness is an issue that’s “trivialized.” To me, it seems that even if you ignore all the intense media messaging we get every day that only thin (cis, femme, white) women deserve to be loved, we live in a culture that’s obsessed with weight and kind of hates fat people. I feel like there’s a Special Report on the 11 o’clock news once a week about how OBESITY is KILLING our CHILDREN. And in the Emma Thompson interview referenced, she’s talking about a time when another actress in a movie she was working on was threatened with being fired if she didn’t lose weight. Am I missing something? How is this an issue that’s trivialized or trivial?
2. Re: being overweight and being unhealthy. There are many studies that correlate obesity with things like heart disease, but there are also many studies that HIGHLY correlate obesity with being low-income, with low education, with not having health insurance or access to health care. I would say that not being able to see a doctor makes you a lot more likely to die early of undiagnosed heart disease, yeah? There are also many studies that show that fat people receive significantly worse medical treatment even when they do get to see a doctor – BECAUSE OF FATPHOBIA. Obesity is also more statistically prevalent in communities of color, which have the same problem w/r/t receiving poor or no treatment because of stigma and systemic discrimination in the healthcare system. It’s worth asking whether an individual who’s fat and unhealthy is unhealthy because of their weight, or because of how the rest of the country feels about their weight. Also, even in spite of all this, it’s perfectly possible to be fat and be healthy – there are loads of fat vegans and vegetarians who go to the gym 5x a week and have lower cholesterol than me.
3. Even if the first two points weren’t true, I’m a little bothered because I feel like your comment implies that it’s okay for our culture and our media to say that being fat is bad b/c it’s unhealthy. Even if being fat were unhealthy, I don’t think that makes it okay for mass media to somehow legislate it – that it’s okay for the mainstream culture to stigmatize something if it’s somehow “for our own good.” I just don’t believe that stigma and shame are appropriate vehicles to police our behavior, especially as a woman. If being fat is unhealthy, and people don’t want to be unhealthy, they can decide that on their own without Jennifer Aniston being forced to lose 30 pounds before she could have a role on Friends.
Ok so I might have expressed my thoughts badly, this was written rather fast. So I’ll just address your thoughts.
1- it isn’t trivialised everywhere, of course. And there are more and more programmes about it. But what I meant is – and this is going to sound like an easy-way-out kind of argument – take Beth Ditto for example. She is overweight and is what some people have called “fat-positive”. And I’m not saying we have to be negative toward fat people, just that being positive toward the actual “fatness “(is that a word? ah well) isn’t the best of examples, really.
2- I, in no way, deny that there is a correlation between being overweight and low-income and low education. Also, it is true that maybe I didn’t consider all the implications of your health care system (which one is that, anyway?) – I live in Switzerland, here everyone gets medical attention,insurance is compulsory for residents(and illegal immigrants also get treated). So that’s my mistake.
“It’s worth asking whether an individual who’s fat and unhealthy is unhealthy because of their weight, or because of how the rest of the country feels about their weight. Also, even in spite of all this, it’s perfectly possible to be fat and be healthy” Really, I think it goes both ways. Being fat is unhealthy, but any stigma that goes with it doesn’t make it any easier on the person. And vice-versa.
And, if you have numbers or studies regarding healthy fat people I would gladly read them. I’m not being sarcastic it actually does interest me. Putting aside the cholesterol part, so the whole cardiovascular thing, there are other illnesses associated with obesity.
3- I do apologise if I came off as implying such a thing. I do NOT think it’s okay for our culture and media to stigmatise fat people. Like I said, that intolerance is uncalled for. However, I do think that education and prevention are necessary. I’m not sure as to how they do it where you live. But here it’s pretty much just “to be healthy, eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day” or “avoid eating between meals” scrolling at the bottom of ads for like, a candy bar or something, to balance it out. No shock value or anything. I don’t agree with shaming and stigmatising fat people either. So I’m sorry if it came across that way.
About the actress and J. Aniston part: I’m not saying I agree with the producers at all, because I don’t, but really she didn’t have to lose the weight if she liked it so much. What I mean is, if you apply for a job, sometimes there’ll be conditions. If anyone asked me to go back into the closet for a job (basic example) I would tell them to go screw themselves and go get another job where I can be myself. Now, some people would go back into the closet. I wouldn’t agree with the administration asking them to do so, but it’s their call that they accepted to do it.
I hope that made sense. It did in my head.
Firstly, thanks for sharing your opinion, Lydia — I disagree strongly, but throwing yourself into the lion’s den is brave, so kudos!
Secondly, it’s kinda funny that this convo is happening on a Jillian Michaels post, as many consider her show part of “the problem” I’m about to describe.
Ok. I think the problem begins with assumptions about the corrolation between weight and health. Do you know what Beth Ditto eats or how much she exercises? Probs not. What do we know really about anyone’s health & diet routine? Almost nothing! Yet we feel comfortable to assume; which’s evidence of exactly how pervasive fatphobia is.
Thirdly, I was raised by a nutritionist feminist lesbian and one thing she always was saying to me when I was ED’ed and had about 300 questions about calorie intake/outtake every day was that there is no purely definitive science at this point and the best judge of how to eat/exercise was just your own personal experience — which is a scary idea for some people, because that means we can’t judge anyone but ourselves. Furthermore, because it’s an evolving science, you have to take everything you read/see with a grain of salt — including anything you read/see which claims that a fat person is an unhealthy person.
Spend some time on the website of the “Health at Every Size” for a new perspective on commonly accepted ideas like “fat = unhealthy.” There’s also a great interview with the writer of “Healthy at Every Size” at Psych Central: Why it’s Time to Change Our Thinking About Weight. Some choice quotes:
“The idea that we can control our weight is a myth. Your body does a lot to undermine weight loss.”
“Another myth regarding the obesity epidemic is that it’s killing us. It’s true that people are heavier than before, but, interestingly, people who are in the category labeled “overweight” have longer life spans, on average, then people in the category we call “normal.” I am not suggesting we all try to get “overweight,” but this does bring up the point that weight has been very much exaggerated in its role in health.”
See; calories are commonly accepted to be the thing that controls how much you weigh. So I could eat nothing but sugar-free Jello, air-popped popcorn and bananas for a week and I’d lose weight; that’s not healthy! Similarly, so many nutrient-rich foods like nuts, avocados & cheese are high calorie. 9-Grain Bread has more calories than Wonder Bread. But it’s better for your heart. Wtf, right?
Anyhow, I’d also recommend checking out The Fat Nutritionist and Corpulent.
Well I’m always open to being corrected, and I will check out the links you gave me. I do know about the whole calories thing – which I do not dispute because I know it is true. This study did a comparison between different weight-loss diets and established that whether you eat only carbohydrates or only cheese and dairy, the weight loss will be equivalent to the calories ingested.
Either way, I will inform myself, and thanks again for the links.
*applauds*
Also, having seen fatphobia in Malaysia (though only seeing the Health At Every Size movement in Australia), it’s definitely not unique to the US. I find though that in the US you have more people actively calling out privilege, championing minorities, and so on – there’s more political awareness and effort. There’s possibly the same issues worldwide – whether they are inbuilt into the culture or a result of Westernisation I’m not sure – but perhaps not as much political leverage.
Hi Lydia,
Thanks for clarifying where you live. Since obesity and poverty are deeply intertwined in the US, it’s definitely a different experience than Switzerland.
In addition to everything Riese and Rachel have said, I just want to add that sometimes fatphobia is coded classism. If the cultural assumption that fat = lazy and poor = lazy, then you can marginalize poor people for being fat instead of poor in a more culturally accepted way. See http://www.peopleofwalmart.com for examples.
Also, think of celebrities. How many times have you read celebrity diets that have been about just eating blanched fish and salad and working out two hours a day everyday? That doesn’t sound healthy either, but as a culture we don’t criticize their health or choices because we privilege their appearance. Since fatness is visible, it bears the brunt of what’s considered unhealthy.
**Ok, what I’m about to write next stems more from personal experience, and may be totally wrong and offensive. Please feel free to chime in where I’m not getting it right, or have taken a though/feeling into a wrong/hurtful direction.**
I want to make some connections to disordered eating (in terms of body visibility), but feel I’m only going to do it in a very clumsy way. Can anyone else articulate that, in addition to what Riese has already said? I’ll start with that esp. when I’m depressed, I don’t eat at all. But since I’m overweight, I know people assume I must be EATING ALL THE TIME OM NOM NOM NOM. Just not the case. My friends with anorexia have dealt with invisibility with their issues and health, since while their bodies showed signs of it, they never got “too skinny.” I’d take a gamble that as a society, we make “too skinny” such an extreme. Anyone watching this season of America’s Next Top Model? Brenda, the redhead, has a concave tummy and her ribs are exposed just like my friends with anorexia do, but she’s considered a model! What!
No, I get your point. But I guess that from a far, far, far away distance, the classism is difficult to understand, to some extent.
And totally agree that anorexia should be taken much more seriously than it is (and for the record, I do find the celebrity’s eating and exercising habits that you mention unhealthy).
Rachel you are so full of win! Thanks for articulating all the factors surrounding fat in the US!
I wish I had something to add, but you nailed it!
Alright kiddo. You want to harp on government policing the population? HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE GOING TO GET GAY MARRIAGE? No one is going to vote it is, it will be legislated for us from on high. Liberalism (possessive individualism, let people do just as they want, the body is the individual’s property) has led us into exploitative capitalism, the AWFUL association between bodies and movable property, sex as a private act to be advertised publicly as an identity, the obsession with marriage, etc. I’m not arguing for a police state, just don’t try and get all theoretical pants on me, bud.
Everybody knows that obesity is connected to race and socioeconomic issues, but accepting fat as okay is equivalent to turning a blind eye to the bigger problems, it’s the easy way out. Almost like saying, “alcoholism is okay! don’t unfairly persecute the people on the reservation”. Almost, not quite. And maybe that was offensive. Sorry.
And if you are going to say that American culture provides only one variety of hot, which I agree with, what kind of options do you think lesbian culture provides? Short hair, PC, and apparently no one is allowed to base any attraction on looks because that would be exclusive. Of course it is not that simple, but we are often as monolithic a community as that “everyone else who is wrong/sexist/racist/heteronormative out there”. You know who doesn’t allow me to like what I like? You know who polices me? LESBIANS.
Maybe I’ll stick to Fuck Yeah Dykes for a while.
But you guys will always be my home page and I’m still glad you’re around.
Don’t worry, we don’t lynch people here.
We’re far too busy lying on the couch eating fried chicken. OM NOM NOM
While I can almost admire your concern for the health of fat people, I think you should totally educate yourself. Fatness is such a complicated issue. And boiling it down to not eating “right” and not exercising, is just grossly oversimplifying the issue.
Less than a year ago, I weighed 368 pounds. I’ve since have made significant changes to the way I live my life and have lost 77 pounds. And prior to making these changes I seriously ate every emotion that I had. I’m talking sadness, depression, loneliness, even happiness. I was so self-conscious about the way I looked that I couldn’t engage socially without drinking. People don’t understand the intense emotional struggles that can plague the obese and overweight. And the assumptions you are making are just woefully uninformed.
And it’s worth pointing out that while my own experiences with fatness have been a source of personal anxiety, there are people like my girlfriend who find their fatness to be a source of strength and power, womanhood and sexiness. And in a world where people spout off about their love of diversity and then make baseless judgments about people who look different than they do, finding empowerment in fatness is really refreshing — and more importantly, really, really hawt.
So please, take some time, surf the web, educate yourself. Being bigger is so much more complex than what you’ve chalked it up to be.
P.S. I’m sorry fatness has been costing you so much money. Really, I am. But in all honesty, your money is probs being spent in far more unsettling ways. Look into it.
Thank you for that perspective! Pretty much everything in life is more complicated than it would seem at first glance.
The important part of fat acceptance is acceptance.
Whatever the ‘reason’ for the fatness.
In defense of “fatphobic”: http://bit.ly/bzbGa3
“Women are hard-wired to worry about their weight” Well there you have it girls, it was your brains all along! Now you can forget all about this silly feminism business and get back in the kitchen; I’m sure there’s a MAN nearby who could use a sandwich.
P.S. There is also this part: “Many women learn that bodily appearance and thinness constitute what is important about them, and their brain responding reflects that”, so my previous rant may have been uncalled for. I guess I should read all the way through something before I get all indignantly sarcastic, huh?
Friendly fire, mate. I usually don’t put much stock in these types of studies in the first place but it seemed relevant and recent with some interesting insights (which admittedly would require more research to make any broad generalizations). The Fox News link has more info about the actual study if you dare venture to it.
Sorry, it’s just that it wasn’t clear weather “In defense of “fatphobic”” was meant to mean “in defense of fatphobia” or “in defense of using the term ‘fatphobic'”. Also, I really hate these kinds of studies.
“guess I should read all the way through something before I get all indignantly sarcastic, huh?”
i feel like this happens to me at least twice a week.
How perfectly ironic that Fahrenheit 451 is on ALA’s 100 most-banned books of the century list.
Is it strange that it never occurred to me that it’s even possible to request a book gets banned from public libraries/schools? I don’t know if it’s something that gets stirred up when you become a parent, but the human urge to censor baffles me.
Don’t worry, we don’t lynch people here.
We’re far too busy lying on the couch eating fried chicken. OM NOM NOM
*Oh the racial irony in this statement. I think I just smiled in my insides.
I have seen the video and i am totally agreeing with her.
thinking about it. Apparently no one will shut up about whether the female roommates in Apartment are lesbians or not.
thinking about it. Apparently no one will shut up about whether the female roommates in Apartment are lesbians or not.